


Time and Time Again

by Gracelessliar



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, First person so I don't have to gender Frisk, Gen, I Don't Even Know, Original Universe, POV First Person, POV Frisk, Still learning tags maybe I'll get better at this :/, Tragedy, With some plot relevant changes, because that made my brain hurt, but yeah sad stuff will happen, not always sad, we'll see how it goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6997501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracelessliar/pseuds/Gracelessliar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They finally had their Happy Ending.</p>
<p>But then something happened. The world was reset, but no one knows why, not even the person most likely to know. Frisk doesn't know; the kid doesn't even remember anything that happened in the timelines before this one. With the help of an overly aggressive flower, and a lazy, confused skeleton, Frisk is going to try to survive an Underground trying to kill all evil humans, and find out the truth behind the reset and what being DETERMINED really means.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallen Down

**Author's Note:**

> -I guess this a beginning-  
> -Enjoy-

It wasn’t entirely by accident, but I fell. 

The climb up the mountain had been long and grueling. The fall was short and easy. It should have been enough to kill me, or at least hurt me, but when I woke up on the soft ground below I didn’t even ache.  
I had been told Mount Ebott was a dangerous place. People went missing there, not often, but it had happened enough there were stories. I’m not sure if I had climbed the mountain because I believed the stories, or because I didn’t believe them. Either way, I hadn’t expected to trip on an out of place vine and into a cave at the summit of the mountain.

I had landed on something soft. A patch of small, golden flowers growing in what little sunlight shown through the opening of the cave high above had broken my fall. I didn’t recognize the flowers, I had never seen them before, but I knew what they were called. Buttercups.

The cavern around me was spacious, far larger than I thought it should have been. Did anyone else know there was such a large cave down here? The walls were steep. I wasn’t going to be climbing back up any time soon.  
Crumbling pillars stood throughout the cavern, and some had toppled over. An image was carved onto the pillars, three triangles in a row, the middle one inverted, and above them, a small circle with outstretched wings. The image was repeated on all the pillars like a prayer.

I stood. If I couldn’t get out the way I entered, I would have to search for another way home. The cavern had one other exit, and it was flanked on both sides by more pillars. I headed for the exit, but before I reached it a voice called out from behind me.

“Howdy,” the cheerful voice said.

I turned around, holding back a cry of surprise. A flower, much larger than the others, had appeared in the middle of the flower patch. It stood in the same spot I had landed on, but I didn’t recall seeing it until just now.

“I’m Flowey, Flowey the Flower!” the flower said. “I’m your new Best Friend.”

It was clearly the flower speaking. A mouth and a pair of eyes sat in the middle of the flower, surrounded by golden petals. A beaming smile, just as cheerful as the buttercup it adorned, shone at me beneath two eyes filled with joy and wonder.

What a happy flower.

The flower looked up at the hole in the cavern’s ceiling, and then back at me.

“Wow, that was quite a fall,” he said. “You’re lucky you weren’t hurt.”

I nodded, unsure of how to respond to the talking flower.

“If you came from up there, that must mean you’re new to the Underground, right?” Flowey asked.

It was subtle, but I thought I saw the flower straighten, as if trying to make himself look bigger.

“The Underground?” I asked.

“That’s right,” Flowey replied, “Oh, but it might be tricky for a human here. Why don’t I tell you how things work down here?”

Now the flower was giving me advice? Had I hit my head during the fall and not realized it? Was I going to wake up three days from now in the hospital and be told this was nothing but a dream? 

“-pretty good,” the flower was still talking.

Flowey swayed back and forth as he spoke, his smile never faltering. Maybe he was just happy to have someone to talk to? It wasn’t like he could go far as a flower, right?

“Anyway, the key to surviving around here is Love!” Flowey declared with a flourish of his leaves.

“Love?” I asked. 

“Sure thing, friend,” Flowey said. “Love makes you stronger, if you don’t have enough love, a little thing like you might just get eaten.”

“Eaten?” I asked. “What does that mean? There’s something here than can eat me?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Flowey said. “I’ll take care of you, I’ll give you enough Love so you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

I shifted my weight and glanced behind me at the cavern’s exit. What had I fallen into? 

“Hey, pay attention or you’ll miss them,” Flowey snapped.

I looked back at Flowey, a little surprised at the change in his tone, but he was smiling as bright as ever. 

“These are friendliness pellets,” Flowey said as he waved a leaf. Brilliant golden petals appeared in the air around Flowey. He continued to explain in a sing-song voice, “You’ll need to collect these to increase your love. Make sure not to miss them.”

The petals floated towards me as if they were drifting on the wind. It was simple enough to reach out and grab one with my hand. 

As I wrapped my fingers around the petal, I felt a shock of pain resonate through my entire body as if I had been struck by lightning. The pain shook my very soul, and I could almost feel it cracking. I fell to my knees, holding my arm to my chest. I could hardly move my fingers, the pain was lingering in my arm, making it numb and impossible to move.

“Hahahahahah, you really are an idiot,” Flowey sneered.

The smile on his face had transformed into a gaping maw that split his golden face in half, and his innocent eyes were cold and cruel.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked.

“In this world, it’s kill or be killed,” Flowey said. “You’re just on the wrong side kid.”

I staggered to my feet and began to back away from Flowey. His smile sent shivers down my back, but I was still too numb to turn and flee.

“Now, to finish you off,” Flowey said.

Golden petals, too numerous to count filled the air around Flowey. They began to drift towards me. They were slow, but there were too many to dodge. I watched the oncoming golden death and bit my lip. I closed my eyes and hunched my shoulders, all the while Flowey’s laughter echoed in my ears.

“That is enough,” a prideful voice called out.

Flowey’s laughter stopped, and I could smell something burning. I peeked at the scene before me. The flower petals were burning, and a tall, white, and vaguely goat-like figure was standing at my side. 

Flowey sneered at the intruder.

“What a lucky brat you are,” he said to me, and then burrowed into the ground, disappearing as if he had never been there.

“Oh, my child, are you all right?” my rescuer asked, her voice was soft and kind, but Flowey had been the same way.

She knelt down before me. Her face was covered in pristine, white fur, and she had long floppy ears. A pair of small, silver horns emerged from the fur at the top of her head. Her eyes were dark, and though she was smiling at me, I could see a trace of sadness within those eyes.

“What a terrible thing to do to someone so small,” she said. “My name is Toriel, little one.”

Toriel stood back up. She was wearing a set of purple robes, and the same symbol I had seen on the pillars was emblazoned on the front of them.

“Did you come from above?” Toriel asked, and when I nodded she continued. “Yes, it happens from time to time. Humans come here from the world above. Though it may seem to be too much to accept at the moment, I would like to welcome you to the Underground, my child.”


	2. Unnecessary Tension

Toriel’s hand was soft and warm. It was covered with the same white fur that covered the rest of her, but I didn’t think her fur was the only reason I felt such warmth. Certainly, I had never felt warmth like this before. Though I had wanted to mistrust her after the incident with the flower, I simply couldn’t hate someone with such kind hands.

Toriel explained much as we walked. This “Underground” was the world of monsters. Monsters who had once lived in the world above, but now lived here. The monsters in the ruins were kind, she explained.

“If you ever find yourself in a bad situation, just wait and I will come to help you, but do not hurt anyone,” she told me.

We were in an area of the Underground she called the Ruins. And it was easy to see why they were called that. The Cavern had led into a labyrinthine underground structure built of shimmering purple and gray stone.

Leaves fallen from a tree lay scattered on the ground, and vines adorned the walls. There were switches on the walls at various locations, and Toriel bid me to pay attention. The puzzles in the ruins were dangerous she said.

After walking some time together, Toriel let go of my hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I have urgent business I must attend to. Would you be a good child and wait here?”

“What if Flowey comes back?” I asked.

I wasn’t feeling much pain anymore, but the thought of running into the flower again was too much to bear.

Toriel frowned for a moment, and then her expression brightened.

“Here,” she said.

She handed me a cellphone. I turned it on, listening to the soft beep it made. There was only one number in the phone’s memory.

“You can use this to call me if you need help,” Toriel said. “But I do not think you should worry overmuch, that flower will not return to harm you.”

I clutched the phone to my chest and nodded. Toriel was probably just annoyed at having to drag me along. I hadn’t even been able to solve that last puzzle by myself. Toriel had held my hand the whole way through. She was probably just trying to leave me behind.

“I will be back,” Toriel said, resting a warm hand on my hand. “Please be good, my child.”

I nodded and looked down at my feet. Toriel gave a small sigh. I felt her hand leave my head and then heard her footsteps fading away as she left me behind. By the time I looked up, Toriel was long gone.

My shoulders slumped and my heart felt heavy. Toriel was nice to be around, comfortable and warm. It wasn’t a feeling I was used to.

The desire to follow her overcame me and I took a small step forward. She had told me to wait here, but I wanted to go with her, and more than that, I could see more of the ruins beyond the room I was in. The draw to explore them was more than I could stand.

I smiled and shrugged. Toriel might scold me, but that would be worth the surprise when she saw I had followed her. I discarded my obedience, and advanced into the ruins.

 

The golden light floating above the fallen leaves was impossible to miss. It shone against the red; a sparkling gold that drew my eye. I crossed the leaves, the crinkling sounds the made filled me with…something. I felt my soul brighten, and the fear and pain I had been suffering under since Flowey’s attack disappeared as I placed my hand on the light.

I had SAVED.

I had-what? I put a hand to my head as a flash of pain cut through my temples. What had just happened? I withdrew my hand from the light and stepped back.

Trying not to grimace, I turned away to face the ruins. Toriel was long gone, but there was only one path forward to follow. She had warned me about the traps and puzzles, hopefully I wouldn’t stumble across any that were too difficult.

As I made my way through the ruins, creeping across crumbling floors and flipping switches along the way, I encountered monsters.

They were different from Toriel. As different from her as she was from me. They were frightening at first, but after talking with the monsters, I realized they actually weren’t any different from me. The little frogs didn’t really understand me, but they seemed to enjoy my feeble attempts at flirting. It was almost too much really, and I found it hard to keep from laughing.

I continued into the ruins, meeting more monsters until I found my path blocked by a white blob on a pile of leaves. The blob was sleeping. Well it was pretending to sleep at least. I could hear it mutter to itself every once in a while, wondering if I had left.

I turned around and looked behind me. This really was the only path, and I wanted to continue; the white blob would have to move.

I poked the blob, politely as possible of course.

“Excuse me,” I said. “I need to go through here.”

The blob sighed, shook itself and then stood. Floated actually. It rose into the air, floating about a foot of the ground. It was ghost, with big dark eyes and a lonely frown on his face. He stared at me, and then sighed again.

“ _Yes?”_ he asked in an unearthly voice.

“Would you mind moving?” I asked.

Another sigh, followed by some unintelligible words and then a barrage of tears that soaked the pile of leaves it had been sleeping on.

“Oh,” I said as the ghost continued to sob uncontrollably. I tried to find some way to make his smile. “What’s your name?”

“ _Napstablook,”_ he said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Why are you lying here?”

“ _It’s quiet here, and no one bothers me,”_ Napstablook replied.

His tears stopped, but what replaced them was an awkward silence.

“Hey, um…How do ghosts learn music?” I asked.

A bad joke to break the silence, but Napstablook just stared at me.

“ _Really not feelin’ up to it right now. Sorry."_

“By reading the sheet music,” I finished.

It probably wasn’t funny. In fact, it was probably not very nice to tell ghost jokes to a ghost.

Naptasblook smiled. He then looked to the side, away from me, before sighing and looking back again.

“ _Let me try…,”_ he said.

He began to cry again, but this time the tears flowed upwards, defying gravity. He was a ghost, so, maybe that kind of thing was normal? I couldn’t claim to be an expert of any kind on ghosts, especially not ghost jokes.

The tears formed into a top hat made of the same kind of substance as his body. The hat perched atop his head, a fine addition that made him look dignified.

“ _I like to call this- “_

“Dapperblook!” I interrupted.

I smiled as I stared at the hat.

Napstablook looked a little frustrated, but seemed pleased I was excited by his trick.

“ _How did you know?”_  he asked.

“Lucky guess,” I replied. “Doesn’t it just fit?”

Napstablook nodded. He floated in the air, moving side to side and hummed a small song.

“ _I like to come here because no one bothers me here,”_ he said, “ _but today I met someone pretty nice. I’ll let you pass now.”_

Napstablook faded away, hat and all, and soon I was staring at empty air. It was a little lonely. Why couldn’t he have stayed around a little longer? I sighed, and continued on my way. At least I knew Toriel had to be somewhere up ahead. I wasn’t alone here.


	3. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I might be a little lonely-  
> -Enjoy-

The toy knife was lying on the ground. I stared at it for a moment, wondering why something like that was here. I had wandered into a dead end in the ruins, and lying on the purple stones was a small knife. The edge wasn't sharp, and it wouldn't be able to cut paper, let alone a person or monster, but the sight of the knife sent a cold chill down my back.

I bent down to pick up the knife, but before my fingers touched the handle, I stopped. What did I need a knife, fake or otherwise, for? I stepped away from the knife. I didn't need it, and I didn't want it. My stomach churned even thinking about picking it up.

I returned the way I came.

 

 

A dying tree lay on the path before me. Its trunk was black, and it's branches bare. A pile of autumn leaves, the same leaves I had seen throughout the ruins, lay on the ground around it. Were all those leaves from this one tree? If so, how had they gotten spread through the ruins?

The cellphone Toriel had given me began to ring.

"Hello," she said as I answered it. "I have finished my errand. I will- "

I could hear her voice from two directions. I looked up and saw her standing next to the tree. She was holding the phone up to one of her floppy ears, and as her eyes met mine, she broke into a bemused smile.

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to come so far," she said. "What a brave child you are."

Toriel hung up, and beamed at me.

"Come along then," she said. "I have a surprise for you."

Toriel turned and led the way past the tree. I followed behind her, and she soon led me to a small house in the middle of the ruins. As Toriel entered the house, I stopped to admire the house. It had the appearance of a cottage, and even from outside, I could feel a warmth similar to Toriel's. I couldn't stop a smile from spreading on my face as I stared at the house.

A glimmer of light near the door way caught my eye. I placed my hand over the light, and as before, I could feel something filling my body and lifting my soul. Unlike before though, my heart still felt taut, like a rope being pulled too tight. It was a heavy feeling.

I SAVED.

What exactly was I saving?

I stepped away from the light and entered the house. Inside, I could smell something cooking; Butterscotch and cinnamon filled the house. Toriel stood just beyond the doorway, her hands clasped before her, and a kind smile on her face.

"Welcome to your new Home, my child," she said. "I'm so pleased you've come."

There was a staircase behind Toriel. The stairs led down, into a basement perhaps? A single hallway stretched in both directions off of the entryway, and Toriel gestured for me to follow her to the right. She led me down the hallway and stopped at the first room.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, I had a bit of a mess to clean up, but this is your room now," she said.

My room? Why did I need a room of my own? Toriel didn't think I was going to stay here, did she?

Toriel opened the door and I entered behind her. She stood in the middle of the room, looking very proud, and I smiled back at her. I tried not to look as uneasy as I felt.

The room was cozy, as I expected the rest of the house was as well. A bed, a dresser, a box of toys, and some artwork on the walls. It felt comfortable, and alarming at the same time.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Toriel suggested. "You look tired. Crossing those ruins alone must have been very difficult."

I was tired, now that I thought about it. It had been a long day, starting from well before I fell here. Maybe Toriel was right, I should get some sleep, and then tomorrow I could think about what to do.

Toriel tucked me into bed, and as I was nodding off, she switched off the lamps and turned on a music box. A gentle melody played, lulling me into a deep sleep.

 

 

_It's time_ _to wake up!_ _Don't let them keep us_ _ing you_ _!_ _Frisk you have to_ _save-_

A voice whispering in my ear woke me. The room was dark, and the music box had long stopped its playing. I looked around the darkened room as I sat up. It was empty. There was no one here with me. Had that been just a dream? I rubbed my ears; that voice had seemed so real.

I slid off the bed and yawned as I stretched. Toriel's advice had been good. Sleep had been just the thing.

I opened the door to the hallway. The lights were on, and I thought I could hear Toriel's voice coming from down the hallway. She was humming the same song the music box had been playing, and her soft voice drifted through the house.

Curiosity took hold, and I decided before I went to see Toriel, I wanted to look at the house some more. I explored the rest of the hallway I was in, but there wasn't very much to find. Another bedroom, Toriel's I assumed, and a mirror with my reflection were the only things of interest. Otherwise, there was one room that was locked with a small sign on the door barring entry, and several empty flower vases that seemed like they hadn't seen in use in a long time.

I followed the sound of Toriel's humming. The smell of cinnamon and butterscotch had gotten stronger, and my mouth watered at the thought of some fresh pie.

Hmm? Toriel hadn't said she was making pie, had she?

Passing the stairwell, I entered what looked like a sitting room. An armchair, well worn, sat near an unlit fireplace, and on the other side of the room was a small dining table. A flower vase sat on the table, but like the ones in the hallway, it was empty.

Toriel was in the kitchen, I could hear her cooking something, but just before I could call out to her, I heard a ringing sound.

Toriel's humming stopped and she answered her phone. She switched it to speaker and set it on the counter as she continued to mix something in a bowl. I hid behind the wall, unsure if I should interrupt, but also content just to sit still and smell the pie in the oven.

"Is something the matter?" Toriel asked. "It's unusual for you to call."

"I simply wanted to check in," a man's voice, deep and reassuring, replied. "The resets are becoming less frequent, did something happen?"

"Frisk is becoming more accustomed to the ruins," Toriel replied.

My breath caught in my chest. How did Toriel know my name? Had I told her? I thought back to the conversations I had had with her, but my memories were blurry and unfocused, as if they had happened long ago. Still, I didn't think I had ever given my name.

"In that case, it may be time to move on," the man said.

"Won't that make everything more difficult?" Toriel asked. "There's no need- "

"Torie," the man replied, "Resets need to be maintained at a certain rate. Otherwise what would be the point of this all?"

"Yes," Toriel said. "I understand that, but, beyond the ruins, there are so many extra factors."

"Most of those factors are under my control," the man said.

"What about the wildcard?" Toriel asked.

Her tone was heavy. What was the wildcard, and why did it bother her? For that matter, what was anything? I couldn't understand anything they said, but, I listened. This had something to do with me, and I wasn't going to go back to bed and pretend I hadn't heard anything.

"I've taken measures to deal with him as well," the man replied. "I know you're fond of the joker, for some reason," frustration colored the voice, "As long as I control the joker's brother, he shouldn't get involved."

"I think it would be best if you didn't underestimate him," Toriel said, her voice stern and scolding.

"Torie," the man said. "Please do not worry so much. Everything will be alright in the end."

There was a brief pause, and then Toriel sighed.

"I saw him again," Toriel said. "He wasn't happy. He never is."

Silence followed her words. I moved away from the wall. The conversation seemed like it was drawing to a close, and I had a feeling I didn't want to let Toriel know I had heard something like this. Would she be angry if she caught me? I couldn't actually imagine Toriel angry, but it wasn't something I wanted to risk finding out.

"It's our job to change that," the man said just before I left the sitting room. "For both of them."


	4. Heartache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I just can't win-  
> -Enjoy-

I told Toriel I wanted to leave. I wanted to return to my old world. It wasn’t entirely a lie.

She was sitting in the worn armchair, reading a book on snails. She looked up at me over the edge of the book. An expression I had never seen her wear before shone in her eyes. I had seen her worried, and kind, and I had seen her sad, but this was the first time I had ever seen hunger in her eyes.

Toriel snapped the book shut.

“My child,” she said as the hunger faded, “Why? It is safe here, do you not like your home?”

I looked around. This place was nice. It was comfortable and warm, and in some ways, that was really all I wanted.

But I didn’t think that was what Toriel wanted. She spoke her words as if she was expected to say them, and as if she already knew what my answer would be. I stared at her, wondering what kind of answer she wanted, but in the end, the only thing I wanted to say was the truth.

“This isn’t my home,” I said.

A smile, fleeting and small, dashed across her face. Toriel sighed and stood, placing her book on the seat of the chair.

“Follow me,” she said.

Toriel led me into the basement. I hadn’t tried going down there yet. Every time I had stood at the top of the stairs, something stirred in my heart had made me stop. Even now, as I followed her into the darkness below, I could feel my heart pounding, and panic rising in my chest.

I wasn’t afraid of the darkness. So what was it that was so terrifying?

I followed Toriel down a long hallway. There was nothing in the basement, only a few candles to keep the darkness at bay. Eventually, Toriel came to an abrupt stop. I could see a large door behind her. The same symbol she wore on her chest was carved onto the surface of the door. She placed a hand on the door.

“Child,” she said. “Beyond this door lies the rest of the Underground. It is a perilous place, filled with dangers. You can trust no one, and no one will trust you. In that world, it’s kill or be killed. All of the humans who came before you have had to face this choice, and they all chose to be killed. I don’t want to see you do the same.”

Toriel turned to face me. Her expression was grim, her shoulders hunched, and I shivered. I could feel my insides twisting and I took a step back. I didn’t want to hear her next words. I didn’t want to-

“If you want to pass through this door, you’ll need to prove to me you are strong enough to survive,” Toriel said.

Toriel raised her hand towards me and called forth a ball of flames. The fire flew from her hand, straight towards me. I barely dodged the fire, running away from it with all my might.

“I don’t want to fight you,” I cried.

Toriel sent another fireball tumbling my way. Her demeanor was cold, and she watched me closely.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked as the fireball narrowly missed. “I just want to go back.”

“Fight, my child,” Toriel said. “Nothing will end if you only stand there.”

Toriel launched more fire in my direction, an onslaught of sparks, small, but painful when they struck me. They were more difficult to dodge, but I avoided all but a few of the sparks.

I panted as the attack came to an end.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” I said.

Toriel frowned.

“Why is it always like this?” she muttered.

She sent the sparks my way once again. I continued to dodge, but I was getting so tired, and every time I got hit by one spark, the pain made it harder to dodge the rest.

“Please Toriel,” I asked. “Please just let me pass.”

Toriel raised her hand once again, the white fur was engulfed in fire. I stared back at her, could I dodge again? Tears filled my eyes, but I held my ground. If I backed down here, nothing would change, and I knew something needed to change. I couldn’t keep doing this.

Doing…this? Why did I feel like I had repeated this conversation before?

Toriel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The fire around her hand died down, and she lowered her arm.

“I suppose I don’t have the strength to change your mind,” she said.

She looked away, her mouth forming into a tight frown. She said nothing more, but she also made no attempt to attack.

“Let me go,” I said.

Toriel closed her eyes and then nodded. She stepped away from the door, and I took her place in front of the door. Toriel walked passed me, back down the hallway towards the house. She stopped once she was a few feet behind me. I turned to look at her, but Toriel never turned to look back at me.

“If you go through that door, don’t expect to be able to come back,” she said. “The Underground isn’t as kind as I am. Trying to give mercy to a monster stronger than you will only get you killed.”

Toriel walked away, and soon I was alone in the darkness of the basement. I pushed the door open, and stepped through. I wouldn’t regret this decision right? I didn’t think I would, but somewhere inside myself, I trembled. The door closed behind me, and my decision became final.

Beyond the doorway, there was a small patch of grass. A lone beam of light shone on the grass, and in the middle of the sunlight, a flower I recognized was watching me.

“Flowey?” I asked, taking a step back.

The broad smile was gone, and so was the cruel grin. Instead, Flowey watched me with a little frown and hooded eyes.

“You really are an idiot,” he said.

His stem hunched over, and the golden petals around his face drooped. He looked up at me, as if expecting me to stay something, but I was too stunned to speak.

Flowey grimaced, and then shook himself. His expression changed to a small smile, and without another word, he burrowed underground and left.

I stared at the spot where Flowey had been, too afraid for a long time to pass through that patch of grass, but the door on the far side of the grass waited. There was no going back now. I could only press on.

 


	5. sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -For some reason, it continues-  
> -Enjoy-

Outside the ruins, I found a vast, snowy forest. The trees were tall and thin, extending high into the air. Even higher above the trees, I could see the stone ceiling of a cave in place of the open sky. So this place really was the Underground. It had been hard to really understand while I was in the ruins, but now that I was in an open space, I began to realize how different this place was from the world I knew.

Wispy snow fell from somewhere. There weren’t clouds, but despite that, the falling snow was endless. It wasn’t cold either, and when a flake landed on my face, it was only soft.

A well-worn path led away from the ruins. From the way Toriel had spoken, I had thought people seldom left the ruins, but then why would there be such a nice path here? A glimmer of light flashing in a nearby bush caught my attention, and I dug through the sharp leaves.

A camera was mounted inside the bush, the lens pointed toward the path. I waved at the camera, wondering who was on the other side, and why they were watching. There weren’t any immediate answers to be found though, and with the camera watching me in silence, I began to follow the path.

Before very long, I came to a gap in the path. A crevasse had opened up in the ground, and someone had laid a narrow board across the gap, creating a rickety bridge. Something that looked like a fence spanned the gap, intersecting with the bridge, but the gaps in the fence were large. I would easily be able to pass through.

“Hey kid,” a deep voice said from behind me. “Why don’t’cha turn around?”

I froze letting out a small squeak, and then spun around. I hadn’t even noticed him, but a skeleton had snuck up behind me.

His empty eye-sockets, all darkness stared straight at me, and a huge smile was plastered across his face. It didn’t seem forced, but I didn’t think the smile was real either. He wore a large blue hoodie, the zipper left undone, and a white shirt underneath. The inside of the hood was lined with white fur, it looked warm. He wore black shorts, exposing the bones of his legs, and a lazy pair of slippers adorned his feet.

He kept his hands in his pockets, but I could see the way his shoulders were bunched up under the hoodie.

“You got anything to say to me?” he asked.

“Anything to say?” I asked. “Um…hello?”

A glimmer of blue flashed deep inside the skeleton’s left eye socket.

“‘Hello?’ That’s all you’ve got? No apologies or nuthin’?” The skeleton said.

What was he talking about? Why was I supposed to apologize to someone I had never met before?

I took a step back. I was at the edge of the road, any further back, and I’d be on the bridge.

“You scared?” he asked. “Well, that’s good. Cause I’m gonna make sure you have a bad time.”

His voice dripped with malice. I gasped and turned around. I raced across the bridge without looking back. I couldn’t hear in footsteps though. Maybe he hadn’t followed me?

I didn’t stop running until I had left the bridge well behind. I came to a stop in front of a small shack. A sign posted beside it said it was a “sentry station.” There an odd shaped lamp nearby too, but what a lamp was doing in the middle of a snowy forest I couldn’t fathom.

I continued on, undisturbed by anyone, until I encountered another of the glowing lights. SAVE point. That’s what it was called. I didn’t know why I knew, but I knew. I touched the SAVE point. I felt the pain of the burns caused by Toriel vanish, and the fear caused by the skeleton subsided, pushed to the back of my mind.

I was filled determination.

I shook my head and took a step away from the SAVE point and tried not to cry. Something painful stirred inside me as I stared at the light.

“Just because you can SAVE, doesn’t mean you’re safe,” the skeleton’s voice reached my ears.

I looked in his direction, he was standing in my path. How had he gotten there? I hadn’t seen him since the bridge, and he hadn’t followed me. There hadn’t seemed to be another path to take; maybe he knew a short cut?

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said. “Who are you?”

“Pretending to have forgotten won’t excuse you,” the skeleton said. “Give up the act, it’s getting boring.”

The skeleton’s hands were still in his pockets, but his smile was crooked. He was irritated? It was hard to read him; I wasn’t used to trying to pick up expressions on such a featureless face.

“Papyrus had been acting strange since the last big reset, and now this?” the skeleton said. “There’s a lot of things I’ve forgiven you for, but taking away our Happy Ending? That’s not something I can overlook.”

There was that word again.

“What’s a reset?” I asked.

“You- “ the skeleton snarled at me. “Why are you asking me that again? Doesn’t it get boring, pretending every time? Asking the same questions over and over again?”

His left eye began to admit a blue light, and I shivered. The skeleton’s smile widened as he watched my reaction.

“Yeah, no matter how good an actor you are, this isn’t something you can forget, huh?” the skeleton asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied. “Why are you so angry?”

“Kid, I’ve had enough of your playing around,” the skeleton said. “Or, are you saying you really forgot everyone? Undyne, and Alphys, my little brother Papyrus? You even forgot me, Sans?”

“I don’t know if I forgot,” I said, “but no, I don’t know who you are.”

The blue light flickered and dimmed.

“You really, really don’t know?” he asked.

“I-…I don’t know,” I said.

“Oh,” Sans said. “So you did…forget.”

His smile faltered. Could skeleton’s cry? I was probably about to find out right now. Sans stared at me and then his shoulders slumped.

“You forgot everything? Why?” he asked. Tears, glowing in the color of his magic, began to run down his face. “Why only you? Why couldn’t I get to forget everything too?” His voice cracked and he held his hands up to his eye sockets. “Why did you have to leave me behind?”

Sans turned away and walked off. I stared at his receding back. My racing heartbeat began to slow, but my stomach was twisting itself into knots. Why was Sans crying? What was I missing?

What had I forgotten?

I steeled myself to follow Sans. I had to find out.


	6. Snowy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Are these the answers we wanted?-  
> -Enjoy-

I followed Sans, but I didn’t think he noticed me.

“Hey bone-head, stop,” a voice that sent shivers through my body called out to the skeleton.

Sans stopped, looking around for the source of the voice. He was standing in the middle of a snowy field surrounded by steep cliffs. The path had long disappeared; I would probably get lost if I didn’t keep following Sans at this point.

“Down here, idiot,” Flowey said.

Sans looked down at the ground at his feet. Flowey was looking up him, his eyes and mouth both narrowed. I suppressed a gasp and quickly hid behind a tree. I didn’t want to imagine what Flowey might do if he found me again, and this time Toriel wasn’t around to help me.

“Huh?” Sans looked down at Flowey. “You’re that flower that follows the kid around. You’re not trying to kill the kid, are you?”

Menace filled San’s voice, but Flowey just laughed it off.

“Me? Look who’s talking. How many resets did you make Frisk go through just now?” Flowey asked. “The human doesn’t even remember. You could do anything you wanted to that kid, and as soon as a reset happens, poof, memories are gone. Frisk is just like the monsters of the Underground now.”

“There’s no way that’s true,” Sans replied. “Killing the kid still causes a reset. Just because the memories are gone, doesn’t mean the blame is.”

“You’re talking about resetting the Happy Ending,” Flowey said. “But what if that wasn’t Frisk’s fault?”

“How- The kid is the only one with enough d************ to do something like that,” Sans replied. “Who else could it be?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Flowey asked. “I’m just a flower, don’t expect me to have all the answers.”

Sans’s smile became stiff. Was he angry? Then why was he still smiling?

“Then what answers do you have?” Sans asked.

 “I watched Frisk in the ruins for a long time,” Flowey said. “Resets still seemed to be tied to Frisk’s death, but Frisk returns with no memories, and without any memories, the resets happen more often and more frequently. I’m sure you noticed that too.”

I felt my fingers clench into fists. Why were they talking about me like they knew who I was? I had forgotten something? What? And what was this about dying? I didn’t like being left in the dark like this, and even though I didn’t think either the skeleton or the flower were friends of mine, I wasn’t going to waste this chance to get answers.

I stepped away from the tree, clenched my fists, and prepared to speak.

“What are yo-“ I faltered as Sans and Flowey both turned to look at me.

Flowey’s eyes became wide, and his mouth opened into a wide frown. Sans grimaced and then looked away from me as if he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say or do.

“What…are you talking…about?” I managed to say.

Flowey drooped, his petals losing their luster. As I approached, he looked up at me with a softer, less horrified expression, but he still looked at a loss. He seemed to shrink in on himself. Was this the same flower who had tried to kill me just a short time ago?

“Frisk, we- “ Flowey began, but Sans cut him off.

“Did you understand what we were talking about?” Sans asked.

I shook my head.

“Frisk doesn’t remember anything,” Flowey said. “We’ll have to explain from the beginning.”

Sans sighed.

“Listen up kid, this may be confusing, but it’s the truth, and I need you to believe me,” Sans said. “You see, you fell into the Underground a long time ago. Only, it wasn’t that long ago for most people. For people like me, and this flower here, and used to be you as well, it’s been a very, very long time.”

I tilted my head, and felt my face scrunch up. What was Sans talking about?

Flowey sighed. “You’re just going to confuse Frisk if you sugar coat it like that,” the flower said. “Frisk, here’s how it works. Every time you die, the entire world resets to the last time you SAVEd. You know what SAVEing is, right?”

I nodded. At least I knew that much.

“Sometimes, when you die, the world is reset all the way back to the beginning, when you first fell into the Underground,” Flowey explained. “Most people don’t remember what happened during a time that has been reset, but this idiot skeleton and I are both exceptions. You should be one too, but…

“Before this latest big reset, you were able to remember, and you had control over the resets, but someone took that ability from you,” Flowey said.

Were they messing with me? But the grim looks on their faces lacked any kind of humor, and they had been talking about this before they even knew I was listening. Besides, wasn’t this too elaborate of a prank to play on someone you barely even knew?

I put a hand on my chest and felt my heartbeat. It was racing, but the beat was steady. I was alive.

 “I’ve…died?” I asked.

Flowey nodded.

“Have I…died a lot?”

Sans looked away and nodded.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you had done this on-purpose. I thought we were done with all the resets. I thought we were supposed to be happy. You’ve reset the world so many times, I’ve lost track. I’m not sure if even you know how many times you’ve reset, kid. I just thought it wouldn’t happen ever again.”

Flowey sneered at Sans.

“So, if someone took ‘resets’ away from me, who was it?” I asked.

Sans shook his head, but Flowey turned grim.

“I know who it was,” Flowey said. “It was Fa- Asgore.”

“The king?” Sans asked. “He’s the biggest goofball around, why would he do something like that?’

“I have a guess, but since I’m not sure, I don’t want to say,” Flowey replied.

I wanted him to tell me, but Flowey’s hunched posture and forlorn gaze stopped me from asking. It would seem he hated whatever idea he had.  I did have one question for him though.

“Why did you try to kill me when we met?” I asked. “If you knew who I was, then why?”

“Maybe because I’m not actually a nice person?” Flowey replied.

I frowned. That sounded more like an excuse than an answer, and I really hoped he had something better but just didn’t want to say. Why did he sound so resentful anyway? I was the one he tried to kill.

“So what happens now?” I asked. “Do I just keep on dying and resetting? Is that what anyone wants?”

“We’ll continue forward,” Sans said. “You obtained a Happy Ending for everyone once before. Even without your memories, I know you can do it again, kid. And if you aren’t able to remember, then the flower and I’ll do it for you.”

“Hey, don’t volunteer me for things,” Flowey snapped.

“Aren’t you the one who’s been following the kid since day one?” Sans asked.

“That’s-I…but Frisk!” Flowey stammered.

I couldn’t help but giggle at Flowey’s flustered face. Sans’s smile grew wider, and for the first time he looked genuinely happy.

“Well, I guess if you don’t want to come with me, you buttercup away,” I said.

I tried to bite back my laughter, but a giggle leaked through.

Flowey turned to look at me, his eyes wide and his mouth a straight line. Sans burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching his sides.

“Nice one kid,” Sans said, “glad to see you haven’t lost your funny bone along with your memories.”

“Oh my god,” Flowey screamed. “The two of you are horrible.”

 


	7. Dogsong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -It's a little ridiculous-  
> -Enjoy-

Sans went on ahead. He was going to try to meet up with his brother, Papyrus, in Snowdin. Sans said Papyrus had been visiting a friend, but he was supposed to be coming home today.  The skeleton acted a little sad when I didn’t remember his brother. Perhaps even more so than when he realized I didn’t remember Sans himself.

When I asked Flowey, who stayed with me, if I had been close to Papyrus in the past, Flowey just stuck out his tongue and made a barfing sound. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to take that.

Flowey and I made our way through the forest. Sans had deactivated the puzzles in the forest as he went through, and that was clearly to Flowey’s liking. Some of them looked kind of fun though, it would have been nice to get the chance to try them. It was probably faster just to skip them though.

Flowey didn’t seem to want to talk to me, so for the most part, I traveled in silence with Flowey popping up out of the ground every few feet or so and giving me an impatient glare. It got a little tiring after a while, but I knew Flowey was just trying to help. Well…I thought he was trying to help. I wasn’t actually really sure just yet.

I was lucky the snow wasn’t actually cold, I was only wearing a shirt and some shorts after all. Magic snow, from some kind of magic source, I supposed. Just like the light that lit the Underground. That part I had figured out pretty quickly. Crystals sat in the stone ceiling, glowing like countless stars. It was a beautiful sight, but not seeing the sun forever might get a little lonely.

A barking sound interrupted our silent traveling, and white dog wearing armor and carrying a sword bounded up to me and sprung into my chest.  I was knocked over, but the snow cushioned my fall.

“Hey, mutt!” Flowey snapped as soon as he saw me fall over. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Flowey’s mouth split into a jagged smile, as terrifying as it was painful looking. The dog…didn’t care. It seemed to be more concerned with rubbing up against my chest. I was reminded of a dog I once had that would snuggle up to me whenever I got home after being gone a while. But this dog wasn’t mine, and it was the first time I had ever seen it.

I scratched the dog behind the ears and then watched in fascination as the dog stretched its neck so I could better scratch it. The scratching continued, and so did the neck stretching. I scratched, the neck grew, and so on. The dog wasn’t in any kind of pain, from what I could see, and the more it’s neck stretched, the happier it became.

Soon, the dog’s neck had grown to an unbelievable length. It towered over me, stretching high into the sky. The dog’s head wobbled at the top of the long neck that had surpassed even a giraffe’s height.

“Um…Frisk...,” Flowey said. “…maybe you should…stop.”

“Yeah,” I said as I stopped petting the dog. “You…may be right.”

As soon as I stopped petting, the dog leapt off of me, shook, and then bounded off into the snow. Its long neck swayed, and the dog’s small body could barely support the weight of the neck.

My hands covered my mouth as I tried to hold back my laughter, but Flowey just laughed straight out.

“HAHAAHAHA,” the flower cackled. “Look at him run.”

Flowey’s leaves pounded on the ground and his golden petals spread wide. I began to laugh too, doubling over as Flowey and I laughed together. Eventually, our laughter died out, and Flowey and I stared at each other. Flowey’s face turned bright red. Flowers could blush? Well, after that dog, I didn’t think anything would really surprise me.

“Idiot,” Flowey muttered, and then dove underground.

I scowled at the spot where he had disappeared. Did he not like having fun or something?

I continued on alone. Flowey didn’t reappear unless I encountered monsters, and even then, he only sat a few feet away, watching me talk my way out of the fights.

“Why do you do that?” he asked as I sent a cute little monster named Snowdrake on her way after having a battle-of-puns with her.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Let them walk all over you,” Flowey replied. “It’s dangerous.”

“That didn’t seem dangerous to me,” I replied.

Flowey’s petals drooped and he looked away.

“That’s only because you don’t remember,” Flowey said. “Sans isn’t going to be happy with me, but he doesn’t understand how hard you are to protect.”

“Huh?” I asked.

“It’s like you’re asking to be killed,” Flowey muttered, and then he burrowed underground.

I put a hand to my head. Had I died? I bit my lip and wrapped my arms around myself. What a strange feeling, being told about your death. Had it painful? Scary? What had I thought during my last moments? Had I known I would just reset again?

I took a deep breath. There was nothing to do for it now. If I had died, then that was that. I could only keep going forward right?

 


	8. Snowdin Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Never a break around here-  
> -Enjoy-

Sans didn’t meet us in Snowdin Town.

 Flowey had scowled and muttered something about how “it figured that lazy skeleton wasn’t around when you needed him most.”

“Where do you think he is?” I asked.

Flowey gave a little shrug with his leaves “I’ll have to go look for that idiot skeleton. You stay here, can’t possibly get into too much trouble in the middle of town.”

Flowey disappeared into the ground, but popped back up right away.

 “SAVE point,” he said. “I don’t want to have to walk back here again.” And then he disappeared again.

I looked around. Above ground, Snowdin would have been called…uh…what was that word again…quaint? In any case, it was a cute, small town. The kind of town whose chief occupants should have been some cute, old grandparents, not a bunch of monsters.

After seeing Sans, I had expected the monsters of Snowdin to be skeletons like himself, or maybe something that would look right at home next to a skeleton, but most of the monsters were actually fluffy, white bunnies. They walked round on two legs, chatted with each other, and for the most part looked they belonged in the snow. So, maybe they weren’t some cute old-people, but cute bunny-people were probably close enough.

The town itself was decorated like they were about celebrate Christmas. A little tree in the middle of the town was decorated with lights, and there were presents underneath the tree. The presents were all addressed, most with the names of both the senders and the recipients. There were a couple under the tree addressed to a “Papyrus” from a “Sansta.” I smiled at that. Did monsters believe in Santa too?

There were some other monsters strolling about the town who looked more the part a monster, but despite their appearances, they just didn’t seem very monstrous. The ones I saw were all smiling, and not a single one looked interested in picking a fight. Hadn’t Toriel said it was kill or be killed out here? I didn’t want to ignore her words, but none of these monsters seemed to be spoiling for a fight, and most of them didn’t even realize I was a human.

One of the monsters was just a kid like me. The kid stood near the Christmas tree, chattering to anyone nearby about how great “Undyne” was, and how they wanted to be just like her. I watched the kid from a little way away, but the monster noticed me and then gave me a huge smile that would have been accompanied by some enthusiastic waving, if the kid had had arms.

I wasn’t feeling brave enough to talk to the kid, or anyone else for that matter, but as I wandered through the town, I heard snatches of their conversations. The monsters were smiling, but their words were full of despair. There was mention of over-crowding and desperate pleas for the “seventh.” I wanted to ask them what it meant, but whenever I drew near, my voice got stuck in my throat and I trembled. The monster would give me a weird look, and then I’d run away. I would’ve asked Flowey, but he hadn’t come back since going off to look for Sans.

Ah! Flowey had told me to SAVE. I had completely forgotten while exploring the town. I remembered seeing one of the glowing lights near the entrance to the town, and I turned back to go find it.

The SAVE point was sitting between a pair of shops, an inn and a store of some kind. I peered in through the windows, wondering what kinds of goods monsters would sell.  Flowey’s words echoed in my ears, and before I let myself get distracted again, I placed my hand over the golden light and SAVEd.

As soon as I stepped away, I staggered forward, clutching my head and wincing in pain. The world around me spun and I leaned against the nearby building for support. The dizziness passed, but what remained was a gloom and darkness that coiled in my chest like a snake.

I just…didn’t want to do anything anymore. Helplessness weighed down my chest. My legs were heavy, I couldn’t take another step. What…had happened?

I took a deep breath and crouched, sliding my hand down the wall to steady myself. I sat down in the snow and leaned my back against the store wall. I stared at the SAVE point and then closed my eyes. The darkness I found there was better than watching that golden glow. I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around them, and put my head down.

Hopefully this way, none of those friendly monsters would have to see me crying.

 

 

Sans found me sometime after that. I hadn’t moved from that spot. The tears had stopped, but my throat was hoarse, and my eyes felt gummy. The snow wasn’t really cold, but there was still a chill in the air, and I was shivering through my entire body. I couldn’t stand, if I did, something awful would happen. Something I couldn’t bear to happen. Or maybe, maybe something bad had already happened and I just didn’t know.

“What’s the matter kid, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Sans said crouching down beside me. I felt his bony had rest on my head.

Was that supposed to be a joke? Was I supposed to laugh here. I opened my mouth, but the only thing that came out was harsh breathing, interspersed with what I hoped didn’t sound like a sob to the skeleton.

I felt a soft weight on my arms, and battling my own reluctance, I looked up, blinking at  the soft light of the stars. Sans was standing before me. He removed his jacket and laid it on top of me. It was warm. Were skeletons naturally warm? Or was it his magic? Sans’s eye sockets were as dark as ever, but two white pupils floated within them, staring down at me. Concern warped his features, and his smile turned down at the edges.

 “Sans?” I asked.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Did I die?”

“Ah…that,” Sans looked away from me. He kept his gaze focused elsewhere as he nodded. “Yeah, you’ve…died a lot since you got to Snowdin.”

“How?” I asked.

“It’s this idiot’s fault,” Flowey snarled as he sprung up out of the ground. “His brother keeps killing you, and this bone-head won’t do anything to stop it.”

“Cutting me to the bone there, flower,” Sans said.

A small smile spread across my face, but despite that, Sans still looked upset.

“What happened?” I asked.

Sans sighed. He lifted me up off the ground and tossed me over his shoulder. Sans wasn’t much taller than me, so the ground wasn’t very far, but my head spun as the world around me settled.  Sans had lifted me so easily. How strong was he really?

“Let’s talk this over at Grillby’s,” Sans said. “Get you into the warmth, as well as get you something to eat. I think you could use some of both.”

 

 


	9. Nyeh Heh Heh!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Somehow or another, I've come this far.-  
> -Enjoy-

"Grillby's" turned out to be a restaurant, or maybe it was a bar? I had never been in a bar before on the surface, so I didn't have much to compare to. Could monster's even drink alcohol? Well, if a place like this existed, then the answer was probably "yes." In the back of the building, a bartender was standing behind a high counter. His head was on fire. Or, actually, his entire head was fire. And so were his hands. Was his entire body made of fire? He was dressed in a nice suit, but how was it not burning?

Sans put me down as soon as he entered the bar, he made a bee line for the counter, giving the myriad monsters who greeted him a quick nod and wave. The place was full, and I recognized several of the monsters sitting at the tables from my time in the snow forest. The dogs in particular were all gathered around a couple of tables, and their tales thumped their chairs as I waved.

I followed Sans and we took seats on the high stools at the counter.

"Looks like you've made some friends, kid," Sans said as we sat down on the stools.

I nodded. The bartender was giving off a pleasant level of warmth. Would it be rude if I held up my hands towards him to warm them up? I looked at my hands, and then rested them on the table. That would, probably be rude, right?

"Hey Grillby," Sans said, waving to the bartender. "You look fired up today."

I choked back a snicker and Sans grinned at me.

Grillby sighed.

"I see you've brought along a new face, and quite an unusual one at that. Does your brother know you're wandering around with a human?" he asked.

"We both know he's been away for the last few days. Special training from Undyne or something like that," Sans said. "How would he know?"

"I'm surprised you were still working even without him here to keep you on task," Grillby said. "The only bones in your body are the lazy kind."

Sans howled with laughter, slapping his hand on the counter, and Grillby just sighed. I giggled, more amused by Sans's reaction than the joke itself.

Sans shrugged. "Anything you want to eat, kid?"

I shrugged. I was still feeling too sick to be hungry, and that squirming darkness in my chest still hadn't left.

"Should eat something," Sans said. "Grillz, get us both a burger. And don't forget the ketchup."

I groaned. I really didn't want to eat anything. Grillby nodded and went through a door to behind the bar to get us the food.

"So," Sans said once we were alone. "Papyrus."

I looked at Sans. He was staring at the counter, his hands twisted together and resting before him.

"Papyrus is my little brother, the only family I've got," Sans said. "Well, at least right now he is."

Sans glanced my direction and then shook his skull and looked up at the ceiling.

"Anyway, Paps is just about the greatest guy I know," Sans said. "Nothing like me, not a lazy bone in his body, and he's always happy. Normally, by now you would have met him, he's always skull-king around his puzzles, but he's been away from Snowdin for the last few days. He comes back today, always around this time."

"Is that…when I would fight him?" I asked.

"He's found you wandering around Snowdin a few times, before I could find him. Other times you meet each other for the first time outside of the town," Sans said.

"Is he strong?" I asked.

"I don't know if that's really the issue," he said. "You never fight him, after all."

I tilted my head to the side. We fight…but we don't fight?

The food arrived, a pair of slightly charred hamburgers. I was surprised to see such familiar food, and the smell drifted into my nose. My stomach grumbled. Maybe Sans was right, maybe food really would help. When was the last time I ate? The pie at Toriel's? I knew for sure I hadn't eaten anything since then.

"Bone appetit," I said as I picked up the hamburger.

Sans groaned, "Beat me to it."

Sans lifted a ketchup bottle and made a cheers motion with it, but then, instead of putting the ketchup on is burger, he just drank it straight from the bottle. I…wasn't surprised. I watched him for a moment, but the smell of the food in front of me was too much to resist for long. I dug into the burger with an eagerness that surprised myself and Sans. After a short chuckle, Sans continued.

"You've convinced him before in the past," Sans said. "Or maybe it was the future? Well, either way, in other timelines, you were…almost… always able to convince him to give up without having to hurt him. I thought this time would be the same, I thought you just needed to take a few cracks at it. But Paps is being stub-boner than usual. It doesn't seem to matter what you say, kid. Paps kills you every time. Maybe because you didn't get to become friends before you fought?"

It was a strange thing to hear about myself dying from someone else. It didn't really mean much to me, but from the downcast expression on Sans's face, and the way his white pupils kept looking my way for only a moment before looking back at his own food, I knew it meant something to him.

"I'm sorry," Sans said. "Just as Flowey said, I haven't been helping you at all. I thought you could handle it alone, but that wasn't really fair to you."

"So what happens now?" I asked as I set my burger down. "Am I…supposed to just keep trying? Will that…help anyone?"

Sans flinched and then turned to face me.

"What happened to all your D*********, kiddo?" Sans asked.

"My what?" There was that word again. Was it something important?

"D**********n," Sans replied. "It's why you can reset and save and stuff."

"What is that word you keep saying?" I asked. "I can't hear it right."

"Huh? What are you saying, I'm telling you loud and clear, it's your D*********n," Sans said.

The world swam before my eyes and I put a hand to my head. I rubbed my eyes, and after a moment, the scenery around me became steady again.

"Don't tell me, you lost your D********n?" Sans muttered.

I stared at Sans. What did he want me to say?

"If that's the case, then I know someone who might have an idea about what's happened to you," Sans said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Well, you know her, but I guess you don't remember her. Anyway, her name's Alphys, she's the royal scientist working for King Dreemur."

"No."

The sudden interjection seemed to come from nowhere, but when the voice continued to speak I looked down and saw Flowey had managed to pop up out of the floorboards next to the bar. Sans and I stared at the flower, more concerned with how he had managed to burrow through the floor than with what he was saying.

"I don't think we should have anything to do with her, and you certainly shouldn't trust her," Flowey was saying.

"What's got your vines in a twist?" Sans asked. "There's nothing wrong with Alphys. Well…she may be a bit of a recluse, but she's got a good heart. More importantly, she the biggest expert on D…on the thing the kid is missing in the Underground."

"I don't like her," Flowey said.

"Do you like anyone?" I asked.

It wasn't meant to be a difficult question, and nor was it meant to be mean. I didn't know Flowey very well, but I had yet to hear him say anything nice about anyone. Didn't it get exhausting hating people all the time? Flowey opened his mouth to give what was surely going to be a venomous retort, but he shut his mouth and looked away.

"Idiots," he muttered at length and then vanished into the floor boards.

"Huh," Sans said. "How does that even work?"

I shrugged. If Sans didn't know how, there was no way I would.

"So, we need to visit…Alphys?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sans said, nodding his skull. "But first, we gotta convince that bone-headed brother of mine to let us pass, and…well I got an idea for that."


	10. Bonetrousle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -There was this thing I remembered. And then I forgot-  
> -Enjoy-

Sans told me his plan. I didn't like it. Flowey liked it; which was probably just a statement of how bad an idea it was.

I didn't tell him that though. I didn't think Sans was proud of the plan, but it looked like it was something he had thought long and hard about. Besides if he had known I didn't like it, if he had known I wasn't going to go along with it, and I died again, he probably just wouldn't tell me what it was next time.

There was no way I was going to let Sans fight his brother. I'm not sure why, but every time I even tried to imagine the concept, it just felt so…so wrong. There were a lot of things I didn't know, and according to Sans and Flowey, a lot of things I didn't remember, but I was sure that a battle between Sans and Papyrus was something that should never happen. And I wasn't going to let my being here be the reason they did fight.

Sans said if I didn't encounter Papyrus in town, then I always ran into him as we tried to leave town. He said it was in the foggy space between Snowdin town and a place called Waterfall. Where the fog was thickest, it was easy for Papyrus to ambush me there, and difficult for me to escape.

So I let Sans lead the way until the fog began to grow thick, and then without giving him any sort of warning, I ran out ahead of Sans. Sans was smart, he figured out what I was up to and called for me to come back right away, but I was faster than a lazy skeleton, and soon his voice faded into the mist behind me.

I ran headlong into the mist. Soon, I couldn't see anything but white in front of me. I couldn't tell where I was going, but somewhere to my left, I could hear the sound of running water. I figured as long as I kept that on the same side, I wouldn't get too lost. Hopefully. The thick mist made my hair and clothes wet, I was cold, but until I got out of the fog there wasn't much I could do about it.

"Stop Right There Human!"

A voice I didn't recognize echoed out of the mist, and following close behind it was a tall, thin silhouette.

I stopped. As I caught my breath, the owner of the voice approached, and I got my first look at the skeleton Sans called brother.

If I was being entirely honest, I would never have known this was Sans's sibling. They were both skeletons, but that was really where all resemblance ended. Papyrus was tall and lanky, maybe even twice as tall as Sans. Sans was short to be sure, but Papyrus was really tall, I didn't think I would even come up to his waist.

He wore a shiny silver breastplate and red boots. A matching red scarf was wrapped around his neck, and it trailed behind him, a red streak in the white mist. He looked…like a superhero. No wonder Sans thought he was so great. Just looking at Papyrus I could feel a blooming admiration for him.

But, without meaning to my hands curled into fists. If Papyrus was the superhero, then what did that make the person he was fighting? I wasn't the villain was I? Was it just because I was a human? Or was there something else?

Like Sans, he had a huge smile plastered to his face, but unlike the elder brother, the younger brother just seemed like a genuinely cheerful skeleton. He was practically exuding exuberance as he stared at me, his hand resting on his hip as the other waved about to emphasize his words.

Not that his words needed much emphasizing. He did that just fine with nothing but his voice.

"Hello Human," Papyrus declared. "I The Great Papyrus Have Come to Slay You. I Am Very Sorry About This."

It was an odd mix of pride and regret.

"Papyrus, right?" I asked. "Sans told me about you."

"You Have Met My Brother?" Papyrus declared again.

I nodded.

"Do you really have to kill me?" I asked.

Papyrus's smile faltered, and I saw his shoulders slouch. The sharpness of the red scarf seemed to dull, sagging a little as it stretched out behind him.

"Such Are The Orders," he declared. "Undyne Says You Are Evil. I Cannot Let You Leave This Place."

He wasn't exactly monotone, but Papyrus said everything as if he was making a great announcement to the world. It wasn't annoying though, just funny, but this wasn't really the kind of situation I could laugh in.

"Did I do something bad?" I asked.

"All Humans Are Bad," Papyrus replied. "You Are A Human, You Should Know This Too."

"This is going the same as before," Flowey said.

He popped up out of the ground next to me. He had gotten here much faster than Sans.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, nothing has changed. He'll kill you just the same as always," Flowey replied.

"An Echo Flower?" Papyrus asked as he bent over to look at Flowey.

"Keep your eyes to yourself, you freak," Flowey said.

Flowey snarled up at Papyrus, but seeing as Flowey didn't even reach half way up Papyrus's shin bone, I didn't think the skeleton was feeling at all threatened.

"Can't you just let me pass?" I asked. "I won't hurt anyone, I promise."

Papyrus shook his head. The expression on his face matched the one I had seen so frequently on his brother's face. It wasn't sadness, I realized, it was regret.

"One more human soul is all we need," Papyrus said, his voice became soft. "One more, and we can be free, but King Dreemur has said you are too dangerous to use."

"I'm not," I replied as I held my empty hands out for Papyrus to see. "I'm not dangerous at all."

"I'm sorry," Papyrus said as he raised a hand towards me. "Orders are orders."

The wind died, and the scarf flowing in the wind behind Papyrus disappeared behind his back. Papyrus closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his smile was replaced with a small frown.

A bone, similar in size and shape to Papyrus's femur, floated in the air behind him. The bone spun for a moment, and then shot forward, straight towards my heart. I gasped and dove out of the way. The bone sped past me and disappeared into the mist.

Papyrus grimaced.

"I don't wish for this to hurt," he said.

He held his hand up again. More bones appeared behind him, a trio that spun behind him in slow circles. His arm was trembling, but he continued to take aim.

The first bone shot out, and I rolled out of the way just as the second one targeted where I dodged to. It was a close call, but I slid under the second bone. The third one flew towards my head as I recovered from the slide. I leapt to my feet and stepped to the side. The bone clipped my arm as it sped by, cutting through the skin and drawing blood. I hissed in pain but stayed standing. Toriel's fire had hurt far worse. It was as if Papyrus didn't really want to hurt me.

Papyrus clenched his gloved fist and looked away.

"I will become a Royal Guardsman," he said in a quiet voice.

Bones, numbering in the tens, swirled around both Papyrus and myself. They lined up in a ring around my body, but I could see Papyrus was hesitating. He was staring at me, an orange glow flickering in his eyes as if he didn't want it to be seen.

More bones materialized closer to my body, they were lined up vertically, end on end and surrounded me like a shield. Papyrus grimaced, but his expression wasn't directed at me or the bones, it was towards Sans who had appeared between Papyrus and I. The air around Sans was stained with a blue glow, especially near his left eye. I shivered looking at the color.

"You okay kid? Scared me to the bone there," Sans said. "Heya Paps, how's it going, don't tell me this kid got under your skin?"

"Sans, Brother, Get Out Of The Way," Papyrus said. "I Almost Attacked You. We Both Know That Would Not End Well."

Sans glanced back at me.

"You hurt anywhere, kid?" he asked.

I shook my head, and Sans looked back at Papyrus. The tension in his shoulders disappeared, Sans pulled up the hood of his jacket and then put his hands in the pockets.

"Hey, bro," Sans said. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Sans, Move," Papyrus said. "I Need to Kill The Human."

"Kill Frisk?" Sans asked. "Bro, since when have you been a killer?"

"Undyne says-"

"Papyrus, I know neither of us have anything in our heads, but you gotta think things through sometimes."

"Sans Move," Papyrus said. "I Must-"

Sans interrupted him with a harsh, cracking voice. "I'm not going to let you do this."

Papyrus's eyes grew wide, and he took a step back. The bones he had prepared for his attack disappeared in a flare of orange.

"Why?" Papyrus asked. "Why are you standing up for the human?"

"You have nothing to fear from Frisk," Sans said. "I…can vouch that this child means no harm."

Flowey chuckled, but I didn't see what was so funny.

"You actually care…?" Papyrus asked. "Protecting this human is something you want to do?"

Sans's skull bobbed, and I could see the fight leaving Papyrus's eyes. A smile reappeared on the skeleton's face.

"it's been so long since you wanted something," Papyrus said. "How can I stand in your way, brother?"


	11. Quiet Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I've never really been the type-  
> -Enjoy-

The quiet tranquility of Waterfall filled me with D*******n.

The sound of running water filled the caves. Stars lit the ceiling, only they weren't stars. They were magic crystals shining above and glimmering down at me. It was beautiful, but it was a scenery that would never change.

Flowers glowing with a gentle blue light, lit up a dark path covered in soft moss. The narrow paths were surrounded on all sides by water that glowed with a cyan radiance. I dipped my fingers in the water, expecting them to come out glowing, but the water was just normal, clear water as it dripped from my fingers.

Papyrus had come with us into waterfall, walking us as far as another sentry station that sat just within the borders. A SAVE point sat nearby, but I tried not to look at it. Papyrus and Sans had a small chat while a friendly monster taught me about Echo Flowers, the glowing flowers I saw everywhere here. I don't know what they talked about, but Papyrus was animated, and Sans was smiling. I could hear Sans chuckle on occasion, followed by an enraged "SANS" from Papyrus, but they didn't seem to be fighting.

When they were done, Papyrus came to see me. He was all smiles, and I could practically see him vibrating in his bones. He scooped me into a huge a hug and then announced he was looking forward to getting the chance to know me at a later date.

And that he would feed me spaghetti. That part seemed really important to him.

I was kind of looking forward to some spaghetti.

Papyrus set me down after nearly crushing me with his excitement and then turned away.

"Wait, you aren't coming with us?" I asked.

I had thought…after what had happened, wouldn't he want to come along?

"I Will Meet Up With You Later, Human," he said, "But First, I Must Speak To Undyne."

Papyrus returned to Snowdin, and I watched him go, feeling a little lonely already. How silly was that? I barely even knew him, but I had a feeling we could be great friends.

When Sans came back, his near-constant smile was turned down at the edges, and I could see concern warping the shape of his eye socket. It was amazing how malleable his skull was, nothing like a human skull at all.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Sans looked away, but I kept watching him. He was disturbed, but it didn't seem like he wanted to say why.

"Are you mad?" I asked. "Is it because I went ahead of you? Because I didn't listen to your plan?" I looked at my feet, watching them turn inwards as I expected Sans to yell at any moment. Well, Sans probably never yelled, but I'm sure he did something that was like the Sans-equivalent to yelling.

I didn't want Sans to be upset. I didn't want him to decide he didn't want to help me anymore. I could fear my eyes beginning to sting as tears welled in the corners.

"I'm sorry, I didn't *sniff* want you to *sniff* have to fight your brother," I said as the water began to run down my cheeks.

I looked down at the ground as the tears continued to fall. They were streaming down my face and my nose was running. Sans probably thought I was some huge crybaby now, but everything was so overwhelming here. Papyrus had tried to kill me, had killed me, and he wasn't the first. Even Toriel had hurt me, but I knew none of them were bad. Everyone I had met were all really nice people, so why did they have to fight me? Why did they want to kill me?

"Is there something wrong with me?" I wailed as I sank down into a crouch. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to stop the tears, "I am I bad person?"

Silence answered me, but I didn't have the courage to look up.

"Ah…" Flowey interjected into the silence. "Sans, what did you do? How could you break Frisk?"

"I didn't break the kid," Sans replied, his voice was a little stiff, "those are just tears. It's good to let them out once in a while."

"I know what tears are, you idiot," Flowey said.

"Oh? Didn't think flowers could cry," Sans said.

"Flowers can't," Flowey replied in a voice that could freeze lava.

I heard him burrow into the ground and then Sans grunted. A moment later, I felt Sans's bony hand resting on the top of my head.

"I'm not mad at ya, kid," Sans. "I'd prefer it if you didn't do reckless stuff like that though, chills me to the bone when I see that sort of thing."

Puns? At a time like this? That was so Sans…? What? I looked up at Sans, but his face was wavy and indistinct. I blinked at him, and I thought I saw a flash of concern on his face through the haze.

"You need to SAVE kid," he said. "Are there any of those SAVE points around here?"

I stood up and pointed to the one behind me. Sans looked where I was pointing and then shook his head.

"I can't see anything, must be a D********n thing," he said. "Go SAVE."

I shook my head. Bad things always happened after I SAVEd. Like I got sick and dizzy, or something scary happened afterwards.

Sans picked me up by the collar and then carried me over to where I had pointed. He dropped me in front of the SAVE point and then put his hands in his pockets.

"I got nothing but thyme," he said. "And I'd petal Flowey'd say the same."

A hissing sound could be heard beneath our feet, but plant in question didn't show his face. I giggled, sniffed, and then giggled again. Sans's puns were bad, so why were they so funny?

I turned to the SAVE point, bit my lip, and stretched my hand out to the light. There was no going forward until I did this, right? Maybe I could just go back to Snowdin, back to Grillby's where it was warm and the food was nothing but greasy-goodness. Maybe I could live there, and maybe one day, I'd get a present from someone named "Sansta." I smiled as I imagined it.

My fingers trembled as I touched SAVE point. I SAVEd.

Heavy footsteps rang in my ear, as if someone in metal boots was approaching me. I was standing at the edge of the bridge. I had been trying to escape, but had just ended up in a dead end. I trembled as the monster in metal appeared before me, face hidden by a steel mask, and a glowing spear in one hand. The monster said nothing, simply launched the spear in my direction. There was nowhere to escape to, and the spear tore open my stomach. I screamed in pain as the blood splattered everywhere. I could feel my life spilling from the hole in my chest, and I collapsed onto the wooden planks of the bridge. There was blood everywhere, soaking into the wood, covering my hands, splattered across Flowey's golden petals. Flowey was saying something, his eyes dark with what couldn't be concern. He waved his blood-stained leaves at me, but it didn't matter how hard he urged me, I couldn't stand.

I saw the monster approach. The footsteps sounded so far away, even though I knew they must be getting closer. Flowey moved from beside me, popping up between myself and the monster. He spread his leaves wide, but I could see him trembling. He was shouting something. I couldn't hear it. The monster kicked Flowey, and the golden flower was torn from the bridge by the force and tumbled off the edge, falling in the deep darkness below.

"Flowey," I tried to say, but I couldn't hear my voice.

The monster was holding another spear, and they raised it over my back. They brought it down, stabbing another hole in my torso. I felt blood spilling from my chest, but the sensation was short. Soon, everything was cold, and then, I didn't feel anything at all.

I was standing in front of the SAVE point. Sans was standing beside me. We were standing together, next to the sentry station. I grasped my chest, it was whole, intact and the pain was gone. Gone but not forgotten. I held my hands out before me, barely able to hold them still. The blood was gone, they were clean. My hands were shaking, almost too much for me to even see them clearly.

Sans reached his hands out and grasped mine. He held them still as he looked into my eyes. I gasped for breath, but the question in his eyes wasn't something I could answer just yet.

I trembled as I remembered, my entire body shaking in shock. A dream? Had that been a dream? Or had that been a death? Had I remembered myself dying? Why that of all things?

I couldn't catch my breath. It wouldn't come no matter how I tried. I tried to take deep breaths, but the amount of air that reached my lungs wasn't comparable to the effort I put into breathing. My surroundings began to swim, and my knees gave out. I fell to the ground, still clinging to Sans's hands.

The world turned dark and hazy, and then there was nothing.


	12. Premonition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I couldn't hold it back anymore-  
> -Enjoy-

When I awoke, I was somewhere else. I was still in Waterfall, but the save point and the sentry station were nowhere to be seen. A lonely Echo Flower stood nearby, and I could hear the trickling of water nearby. There were walls surrounding me on three sides, with only a narrow entrance leading in. It was a snug little place, kind of like a cave…within a much larger cave. There was no roof above my mini-cave; I could still see the light of the crystals above.

I lay on the ground, Sans's coat wrapped around me, and tried not to think about what it felt like to have a giant hole in my chest.

Why couldn't I have remembered something happy?

Who had been that armored monster anyway? I didn't recognize them, but I could still feel the hatred they had for me. It had been raw and unbridled. They weren't like Papyrus who had been reluctant to fight from the get go. I had never felt an urge to kill from Papyrus, even as he declared his intentions. But the armored monster was terrifying, even without saying a word.

After spending enough time pondering my past death, I sat up. I wasn't feeling dizzy anymore, but the dried, sticky feeling of having cried my eyes out remained. I was hungry, and even though I had just woken, I was tired. Crying did that to you. I would know.

I couldn't see Sans, and Flowey wasn't in sight either. It didn't mean much with the flower, even if I couldn't see him, there was still a chance he was around, but I was worried I couldn't see Sans. Where had he gone?

I tried not to tremble. I couldn't rely on Sans too much; I didn't think he actually liked me? He had stood up for me, but sometimes he gave me this look, as if…as if he didn't recognize me. Like he was looking at someone else. If worst came to worst, I might have to get on without him, and in that case, I had to be strong. I had to be able to get through things on my own.

But that didn't mean I didn't miss him.

There was an Echo Flower nearby, and remembering what the monster near the entrance to Waterfall had said, I stood up and walked over to it. Maybe someone had left behind a message in the flower. I hoped so, it would be something, anything, to distract myself. I leaned my head over and stuck my ear close. The petals ticked my face, and a glimmer of blue magic rose from the flower.

"I'm heading to Grillby's," the flower said. It was a little indistinct, like a bad recording, but it was clearly Sans. "I'm taking a shortcut I know, so I'll be back faster than you can say 'knock knock."

I giggled, he really liked his jokes.

"Who's there?" I asked the flower.

I smiled. There wouldn't be an answer, but maybe when Sans came back I'd have him listen to the flower and play along. That would probably be something he would like.

A cold feeling shot up my back and I spun around. There was nothing behind me, just the empty cavern. Flowey was still nowhere to be seen, and there was nowhere for someone to hide, but I could have sworn I had heard something.

I took a deep breath and put my ear to the flower once more to make sure it had captured my voice. I wasn't sure how sensitive the flowers were to picking up sounds.

"I-AM." The Flower said in a voice I didn't know.

I let out a shout of surprise and then covered my mouth. That wasn't my voice, and it wasn't Flowey's, and it wasn't Sans's either. I looked around again. There wasn't anyone here.

"Hello?" I called out. "Who's…who's there?"

But no one came.

I watched the Echo Flower, my shoulders trembling. I could feel myself tearing up, but I wouldn't cry. What would Sans say if he came back and I was crying all over his jacket? He probably wouldn't ever let me wear it again.

The cavern began to grow cold, as if some kind of pressure was filling the room. It wasn't just my imagination either, I could see my breath on the air as the temperature dropped. The feeling of anticipation oozed from the very walls; someone, or something, was waiting. I tried to ignore it, taking deep breaths, but the pressure just grew until I could almost feel someone standing behind me, breathing down my neck.

There's no one there. There can't be anyone there. I'm alone, I'm alone, so don't look. No need to turn around. No…no need. No looking. No looking. Don't turn around, don't. Don't Don't Don't. No, not looking. Won't look. Can't make me look. No no no no no nonnononononononononono.

I held my trembling hands to my head. My breath came in rattling gasps, the little puffs of white in the air came in smaller, more frequent bursts. The cold intensified and I felt the presence's chill breath against my neck. I almost cried out again, but like a child hiding from a monster in the closet, I held my breath and covered my eyes. If I couldn't see it, maybe it wouldn't hurt me. But my heart was pounding so hard, wouldn't it hear that?

I couldn't see it, and I couldn't hear it. But I knew it was there all the same, sharing a space with me. The cold shivers down my spine felt like long, careless fingers tracing their way down my back. What did it want? If it was going to kill me, couldn't it just get it over with?

"I-AM." The Echo Flower said.

The Echo Flower? But, hadn't it been overwritten by my scream? Had…the thing behind me repeated its words? Was it…trying to continue the joke? That was bad taste, even Sans's worst puns weren't this terrible. I didn't want to play along, but I couldn't stand this anymore. If the presence wanted to finish the joke, if that would make it go away, then…

"I-I-am…w-who?" I asked in a voice so quiet it could barely be heard.

The presence vanished so suddenly I could hardly breath in the void it left behind. My shoulders shook as I felt a weight lift from them. The cave felt vast and empty, but it wasn't any larger than it had been before. I was still alone. I had always been alone.

I stared at the Echo Flower.

I took a step forward, close enough to touch the flower. I took a deep, deep breath and held it for just a moment before releasing it in one slow motion. I leaned my head over, feeling its petals on my skin. There was nothing fun about this anymore. I heard the sound of hoarse breathing, echoed and distorted like I was listening through a tube, and then, in a voice full of static and pain.

"MURDERER."


End file.
